[ewilliams]

Kevin Kohls's comments are excellent, and I'd like to add a few words of sympathy for the maintenance people who very often DO add value by taking the machine down for needed checkup and preventive maintenance even if ("especially if") it is "working fine" and the production people want to keep running it "until it breaks." My mother taught me "a stitch in time saves nine." A wise boss I had at Ford years ago frequently was heard to remark "It's amazing what preventive maintenance will prevent." The wise maintenance mechanic or supervisor is very much akin to the automobile owner who has the brakes checked and relined BEFORE they start to squeal. It's the responsibility of upper management (by that I mean management high enough to be "above" the production people and the maintenance people) to support preventive maintenance by word and deed.